“He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled”

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1037
Sunni Hadith

Source: The Goblin Emperor (2014), Chapter 23, "The Opposition of the Court" (p. 294)

Source: The Darkangel

"The Palace of the End" (2003)
Context: There are two rules of war that have not yet been invalidated by the new world order. The first rule is that the belligerent nation must be fairly sure that its actions will make things better; the second rule is that the belligerent nation must be more or less certain that its actions won't make things worse. America could perhaps claim to be satisfying the first rule (while admitting that the improvement may be only local and short term). It cannot begin to satisfy the second.

Source: Diary of a Bad Year (2007), p. 14

7B:14. Variant translation: The people are the most important ... and the ruler is the least important.

The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain come next; the sovereign counts for the least. note: Most precious are the people; next come the spirits of land and grain; and last, the princes. note: The people are the most important ... and the ruler is the least important.
The Mencius

Source: A Short History Of The English Law (First Edition) (1912), Chapter I, Old English Law, p. 7

Source: The Art of Racing in the Rain